Crews pull wreckage of helicopter that crashed, killing pilot and injuring passengers, from Biscayne Bay

Salvage crews on Friday morning removed a mangled helicopter from Biscayne Bay following a crash off Key Biscayne earlier this week.

The lightweight aircraft, owned by TourHelicopter.com, crashed late Wednesday morning approximately 2 miles west of Key Biscayne off Nixon Beach near Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. Authorities said the helicopter had departed North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines to conduct a photo shoot of the Poker Run speedboat event.

Pilot Tomas Pendas, 63, was killed, and passengers Ryan McCoy, 52, and Ryan Ferraro, 27, were injured in the crash.

Sea Tow Key Biscayne crews carefully towed the aircraft across the bay to Matheson Hammock Park in Coral Gables to preserve evidence for federal investigators.

"This is not the first time we have done this with an aircraft or a boat after they had an accident, and we are trying not to damage it because they want to do the investigation," said Eduardo Barreto, owner and president of Sea Tow Key Biscayne.

Barreto said the helicopter was floating upside down with its cabin suspended roughly 6 feet off the bay floor, supported by emergency airbag flotation devices attached to its skis. Salvage workers attached additional flotation bags to raise the aircraft before pulling it to shore.

At Matheson Hammock Park, Federal Aviation Administration crews removed the helicopter's main rotor blades and tail boom. Coral Gables Fire Rescue crews inspected the wreckage for remaining fuel and hosed down the airframe before it was placed on a flatbed tractor-trailer and transported to North Perry Airport.

National Transportation Safety Board lead investigator Gene Rambo said there were no immediate new developments in the inquiry. A preliminary NTSB report will be released in 15 days, while the final investigation report is expected to take up to 18 months.